| Strong recruitment market looks set to continue
With business booming in Irelands international financial services sector, companies operating in the sector are actively hiring in order to keep up with this level of growth. Fiona Reddan looks at which companies are hiring and what they are looking for in staff. .
REITs decry foreign limits on investment
Ottawa is holding firm on its plans to limit foreign investments by Canadian real estate investment trusts even though the industry complains it will be left at a disadvantage in an increasingly global market. New tax rules for the trust industry, announced last fall and formalized by the federal government this week, cap foreign investment by REITs at 25 per cent of assets. REITs that exceed this measure will lose their tax-exempt status. "It handicaps us," said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Real Property Association of Canada, the industry group that has lobbied Finance officials to remove the measure. "They [foreign firms] can buy us, but we can't buy them. That is a concern." The cap on foreign content is a variation of a rule first developed in 1993 when REITs came to Canada.
Why does Wesleyan invest in weapons contractors?
Many Wesleyan students, parents, faculty, and alumni might be surprised to learn that Wesleyan University currently invests money from its endowment in two of the top six U.S. Defense Department contractors: Raytheon and General Dynamics. These two companies produce a wide range of deadly weaponry that has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan. Raytheon makes Patriot, Tomahawk, Maverick, and Sidewinder missiles, plus the GBU-28 "bunker buster" bomb, while General Dynamics makes F-16 fighter jets and is the country's "leading producer of combat vessels, including nuclear submarines, surface combatants, and auxiliary ships" (corpwatch.org). In 2005 Raytheon and General Dynamics made a total of over $34 billion in Defense revenue (defensenews.com). Although Wesleyan likes to boast about its "socially responsible investing," the university's current investment practices do not seem to match its rhetoric.
RODAMCO AND UNIBAIL TO CREATE THE LEADING PAN-EUROPEAN COMMERCIAL ...
This is a joint press release of Rodamco Europe N.V and Unibail Holding. Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. This announcement and related materials do not constitute an offer for ordinary shares in Rodamco Europe N.V., but the expectation is justified that an offer will be made in due course as set out in this press release.
Paris, France and Rotterdam, the Netherlands - 10 April 2007 - Rodamco Europe N.V. ("Rodamco") and Unibail Holding S.A. ("Unibail"), in a joint communiqué, announce they intend to combine both companies to create the leading pan-European commercial property company. The combination will be a merger of equals which will offer investors a unique investment platform with the following characteristics:
.
bellwetherreport.com: Analysis of ProCentury Corporation
As the good Samaritan of the insurance industry, ProCentury focuses on the geographically remote and the hard to insure. The company specializes in commercial excess and surplus lines (coverage that other insurers have rejected). It writes liability, property, and multi-peril insurance for small and midsized corporations, including specialty coverage for retail stores, non-residential contractors, daycare facilities, and fitness centers. Focusing on excess and surplus, ProCentury exited the auto and workers' compensation industries in 2000 and 2002, respectively. The company markets its products through more than 100 agents in 35 states. Shares were down 6% since announcing financial strength rating. BellwetherReport.com is a leading online research firm for international investors looking to get an edge over their portfolio.
US MEDICAL DEVICE FIRMS MAY BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY JAPANESE ...
Average regulatory approval times for new medical devices in Japan were longer than those in other principal global markets, and that may adversely affect U.S. medical device and equipment firms, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in its publication Medical Devices and Equipment: Competitive Conditions Affecting U.S. Trade in Japan and Other Principal Foreign Markets. .
Money best spent on covering your health
I worked as a nanny looking after two boys two to three mornings a week. I was responsible for breakfast and transporting the boys to school. What did you get paid? I think it was about $14 an hour. Are you a saver or a spender? I think I was a spender but now I have a home loan I am definitely a saver. What do you spend your money on? I believe that if you do not have a good quality diet you won't get the best out of yourself, so I probably spend a lot on good quality food - and fresh fruit and vegies. What was your most irresponsible purchase? I can't put my finger on anything. I try not to buy unnecessary things if I don't need them or won't use them. Credit cards are:
a) great; b) helpful; c) a poor investment; d) the work of the devil.
Disaster Meeting
Today Senator Kent Conrad is meeting with farmers and ranchers from the area to discuss his disaster aid bill that passed the house and senate. The details of the bill call for about four-point-two billion dollars in disaster relief. About two hundred million dollars of this will be coming to North Dakota. Senator Conrad says one compromise made in the bill is that farmers and ranchers will have to choose to take relief for either 2005 or 2006.(Sen. Kent Conrad/ D-ND)"It's gonna make a big difference. This is not a Cadillac plan it's more of a chevrolet plan but it's going to make a meaningful difference to an awful lot of people in North Dakota." This news comes at the right time for many of these farmers and ranchers. This is when they are beginning to prepare for the upcoming growing season.
Rich nations urged to help Africa adapt to climate change
Developed countries should step up their efforts in assisting African countries adapt to the devastating effects of climate change, a United Nations senior official said here Tuesday. UN Environment Program (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner said poor nations especially in Africa are experiencing natural calamities as a result of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions mainly by the rich states. "Some measures of climate change is however a reality that the world must already live with. That reality requires assistance for Africa to adapt," Steiner told journalists in Nairobi during the release of the regional report by Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Nairobi. The UNEP chief said climate change is already affecting many parts of Africa and will get worse if the global community does not commit itself immediately to combat that change.
|
